Sherburne-Earlville clinches Section III playoff spot

SHERBURNE – Sherburne-Earlville’s players went mud diving Friday night, and head coach Mike Jasper? He was soaked by the team watercooler. The Marauders had reason to celebrate on senior recognition night as they clinched their first Section III postseason appearance with a shutout win over Clinton.

Austin Jasper ran for 180 yards and one touchdown, and Jasper also caught a three-yard TD pass from Matt Smith. S-E overcame a 38-yard pass by Clinton on the first play from scrimmage, and grounded out a win with a no-frills offensive approach.

“We’re happy and proud to do that,” said head coach Mike Jasper speaking of the playoff berth. “We wish we could have won one of those two tight games in our league and get a higher seed. Maybe it’s not such a bad idea to go play on the turf. We know we’re going to see somebody really good.”

Jasper thought Clinton would try to catch S-E by surprise early, and his premonition came to bear. Clinton perfectly executed a halfback option pass as running back Firestar Gomez hit receiver Kolby Nowakowski on a 38-yard option pass deep into S-E territory. The Marauders’ defense eventually held, and Clinton did not threaten to score again.

“The defense was able to make a big play, and we just buckled down after their big play,” Jasper said. “That play was really the only frustrating part. We drove the ball and just mudded it out.”

Garrett DuVall completed S-E’s first scoring drive on a two-yard run, Jasper made it 12-0 after a 21-yard scoring burst, and Jasper’s TD reception from Smith made it an 18-point bulge at halftime.

Julienne Alsheimer capped the scoring with a two-yard TD run late in the third quarter. The Marauders finished with 336 yards rushing on 48 carries, and held Clinton to just 42 yards rushing. “We wanted to take advantage of our size and strength, and the biggest thing was to not commit the turnovers,” Jasper said. “We knew that Clinton was not the better team, and we wanted to make sure we didn’t give them hope. We pounded it and stuck with the game plan.”